Although it may not seem that way to a lot of us trying to finish papers and preparing for finals, another year is just about to end, one that has passed almost as quickly as it came. Just think for a second all that has transpired in the sports world in these past eight months that we’ve been on campus.
Ben Roethlisberger’s gone from revered Super Bowl-winning quarterback to an all-around scumbag even in his own city. The Yankees have gone from overpaid underachievers to 27-time world champions. John Holland has left BU to go play pro basketball in Greece. What? Wait a second, that was an April Fool’s joke?
Even as a columnist, I’ve learned some new things, like that people who are not my family, friends or editors actually read my columns. In some cases people even leave comments, which, for things like my “Wheels on the House” column, actually work to solidify my argument more than I could have in my allotted 1,000 words.
Moments like this give each and every one of us a chance to reminisce over what was.
Aside from a sport like hockey, we as BU sports fans have what I consider to be the privilege of watching athletes come in, develop athletically and personally, and ultimately leave with a degree, a reality that’s becoming decreasingly common in an age of one-and-done phenoms and the like.
So what better chance than now, with the year winding down, to honor these seniors who have given us so much as fans and supporters.
It is a time like this that is for Casey Brown and Janie Reilly, two phenomenal defensive presences that allowed our women’s soccer team to enjoy the kind of they had this past season.
It’s for someone like Zach Cohen who was routinely a dependable force of stability and consistency for a young, rebuilding men’s hockey team that was in desperate need of it. Here’s to a successful career with the Colorado Avalanche for ZC. Mazel tov!
What about those still playing out their careers as NCAA student-athletes, people like lacrosse players McKinley Curro and Xan Weitzel, who are leading a strong charge of BU to capture a sixth America East championship in just as many years?
The end of a semester is a perfect time to celebrate the accomplishments of players like men’s basketball seniors Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong, two young men who came back from major reconstructive surgery in the offseason to become key contributors on a 20-win team. Their talent and veteran leadership will be sorely missed next season.
It’s for a remarkable player like Samuel Appiah, a Ghanaian import who has shored up the midfield for the men’s soccer team for the past four years. Appiah will be taking his skills to the professional ranks next year, having been selected to play for the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer.
What about the fan favorite of seemingly every member of the Dog Pound, Eric Gryba? The senior defenseman who provided so much hard-hitting entertainment for Terrier fans for the past four years will now be moving on to the Ottawa Senators, where he will undoubtedly continue to crush some skulls.
It would be nothing short of criminal to leave women’s hockey seniors Melissa Haber and Melissa Anderson off such a list. Both of these players were largely to thank for BU’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA women’s ice hockey tournament. These two women may very well be the best players in the brief history of this ascending program.
To conclude, this is my own personal tip of the cap to Corey Lowe, the decorated men’s basketball senior. Lowe certainly has his detractors out there, but I will always remember him as an exceptional shooter and all-around player who, when it is all said and done, will justifiably go down as one of the best players to ever suit up in a Terrier basketball uniform.
To formally end my time here as a columnist, I’ll finish things off with some predictions for the summer and beyond that may or may not blow up in my face:
LeBron will get his long-awaited first title this summer as the Cavaliers will take down the Lakers in the NBA Finals. King James sweetens the deal by opting to stay in Cleveland once free agency hits.
The New Jersey Nets will win the NBA Draft Lottery, aka the John Wall Sweepstakes, next month. It may seem improbable now, but with a young core of Wall, Brook Lopez, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams, look for the Nets to be a contender in the East by the time they move to Brooklyn.
With the Philly connections that exist between BU coach Patrick Chambers and new Boston College head coach Steve Donahue, look for BU and BC to start squaring off against each other on the hardwood sooner rather than later.
Blackhawks claim their first Stanley Cup since 1961 by taking down the Penguins in the finals.
I’m not even saying this as a lifelong Louisville fan, but more as a sensible observer &- John Calipari and University of Kentucky basketball will end up on NCAA probation; the only variable is time. Calipari’s gotten into trouble in his only other two stints as a college basketball coach, and you don’t have to be David McCullough to realize that history has a way of repeating itself.
It will be a down year for BU hockey, with a sixth or seventh place finish in Hockey East, but I have a feeling that next year’s squad will show far more heart and will than the 2009-10 squad.
With so many new faces coming in, BU basketball will be a mystery, but there’s a lot to be excited about with this team. Holland and Jake O’Brien will emerge as the team’s stars, and I see future prime-time performers in freshmen Travis Robinson, Dominic Morris and DJ Irving, as well as Marquette University transfer Patrick Hazel. Stony Brook University may be the preseason pick to win AE, but I firmly believe that BU next year will be crashing the Big Dance for the first time since 2002.
On that note, may everyone, BU athletics aficionado or not, have a safe, happy and healthy summer, and enjoy every moment that life has to offer.